The dean placed his son upon the foundation at Winchester College,
where he had himself been educated. At this school Edward Young
remained till the election after his eighteenth birthday, the period
at which those upon the foundation are superannuated. Whether he
did not betray his abilities early in life, or his masters had not
skill enough to discover in their pupil any marks of genius for
which he merited reward, or no vacancy at Oxford offered them an
opportunity to bestow upon him the reward provided for merit by
William of Wykeham; certain it is, that to an Oxford fellowship our
poet did not succeed. By chance, or by choice, New College cannot
claim the honour of numbering among its fellows him who wrote the
"Night Thoughts."

On the 13th of October, 1703, he was entered an independent member
of New College, that he might live at little expense in the warden's
lodgings, who was a particular friend of his father's, till he
should be qualified to stand for a fellowship at All Souls. In a
few months the warden of New College died. He then removed to
Corpus College. The president of this society, from regard also for
his father, invited him thither, in order to lessen his academical
expenses. In 1708 he was nominated to a law-fellowship at All Souls
by Archbishop Tenison, into whose hands it came by devolution. Such
repeated patronage, while it justifies Burnet's praise of the
father, reflects credit on the conduct of the son. The manner in
which it was exerted seems to prove that the father did not leave
behind him much wealth.

On the 23rd of April, 1714, Young took his degree of bachelor of
civil laws, and his doctor's degree on the 10th of June, 1719. Soon